Danang: a city worth visiting and living in

Danang: a city worth visiting and living in

With its stellar potential, the central city of Danang is boosting its image far and wide as a place worth living in by organising a slew of major events.

In the context of deep international integration, Danang has expanded and established friendly cooperative relations with more than 50 localities across 24 countries, and with many major partners around the world. At the same time, it has successfully organised numerous international forums and large-scale diplomatic events, allowing international friends to see Danang as an integrated, dynamic, and creative city.

In doing so, the city is gradually affirming its position as a major socioeconomic centre of the country and the Southeast Asian region.

Danang was the first locality to issue a scheme on international integration and cooperation, looking towards 2030. The initiative outlines groups of countries, markets, and potential fields that the city can focus on promoting in.

At the same time, it identifies the goal of helping the city take advantage of external resources and boost internal ones in order to develop strongly. It aims to leverage its role as a key growth pole, closely connecting with provinces and cities in the region, and leading the Central region and the Central Highlands in joint development.

This demonstrates that Danang clearly embodies the internationalisation, dynamism, and innovation of a major socioeconomic centre of the country, aiming to become a major city in Southeast Asia.

Danang: a city worth visiting and living in

More cooperation

Every year, Danang welcomes about 300 international delegations for visits and work, and organises approximately 10 delegations of city leaders to go on business trips abroad. These visits and work trips not only strengthen foreign relations between Danang and its partners but also provide opportunities to draw in foreign investment, enhancing the city’s position and image both domestically and internationally.

A typical example is the working trip to Switzerland led by Chairman of Danang People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh, accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the 55th World Economic Forum meeting in January.

There, Chairman Chinh held a working session with the leaders of Sygnum Bank, the world’s first digital asset bank; Philipp Rösler, general director of Concessor AG; and major investment funds and financial institutions in Switzerland, such as UBS Bank and Maerki Baumann Bank.

Previously, in November 2024, Chairman Chinh led a delegation to visit and work with organisations and businesses in New York and Washington to encourage economic cooperation, especially in semiconductor chip development. The result of the visit was the presence of leading US businesses such as Synopsys and Marvell, in some of the clearest evidence of the city’s potential and opportunities for deep participation in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Speaking at the Forum of Friendship and Cooperation Cities – Danang 2025, US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, Susan Burns, said that Danang has done well in connecting with localities around the world, including building relationships with cities in the US. In 2024, the city’s leaders visited and worked in New York and San Francisco, for example.

The forum, which attracted 500 domestic and international partners, saw many international agreements signed between Danang and its partners. The city also signed cooperation agreements with the cities of Aktau in Kazakhstan and Genoa in Italy. In doing so, the city expanded its international cooperation map to include more than 50 localities across 24 countries and territories.

International cooperation takes place not only at the city level but also at district, county, departmental, and branch levels. The city has signed numerous MoUs with various foreign localities.

Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of Danang Department of Foreign Affairs, said that the city is not only proactive in international cooperation but also an active and responsible member of multilateral organisations such as the Local Government Network on Human Settlements Management, the PEMSEA Local Government Network on Integrated Coastal Management, and the World Smart and Sustainable Cities Organization.

In particular, the city’s leaders have performed well in the role of chair of the PEMSEA network, coordinating the plenary session of the General Assembly in Xiamen, China, in November 2024. Through this, Danang is increasingly being recognised by international friends as a dynamic and active locality.

Danang also continues to prove to international friends that it is a modern city and an attractive, safe, green, clean, beautiful, and friendly destination – rated as the 11th best destination in Asia in 2024, according to the American travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller.

In recent years, the city has organised many international cultural and sporting events, such as the Danang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF), the Danang International Marathon, the IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam competition, the Danang Asian Film Festival, the Asian Golf Festival and Tournament, and the Vietnam-Japan and Vietnam-Korea festivals.

These events have left a strong and positive impression in the eyes of international friends, reaffirming Danang’s position as the leading event destination in Asia.

Tourism and event images

Meanwhile, the coastal city is oriented towards developing event tourism and marine tourism as foundational pillars to build a positive image for the city, thereby promoting economic development.

Marine tourism is one of the most popular products and has been identified as a typical tourism product of Danang. With existing advantages and a modern approach to tourism development, the combination of event tourism and marine tourism in the city has the potential to significantly enhance tourism value, increase attractiveness, and build the tourism brand of Danang as being both attractive and sustainable.

Recently, alongside revitalising established products and events to create highlights and breakthroughs, Danang’s tourism industry has focused on developing new products and services, and organising more attractive activities and events.

For example, the 2025 DIFF is currently taking place, marking the 15th year the firework festival has been held. It has brought the image of Danang to an international audience, attracting both tourists and investors to the city.

Truong Thi Hong Hanh, director of Danang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the city is also gradually implementing projects related to marine tourism, aiming to develop marine tourism products in the direction of modern urban beaches, associated with high-end services and large-scale tourism events, such as unique cultural and sports festivals of national and international scale.

“The city is focusing on market segments specialising in mid-range to high-end beach resort tourism, the events industry, and cultural and sports tourism; while proactively implementing promotional activities and advertising to attract visitors,” said Hanh.

Regarding image-building through tourism development, Cao Tri Dung, chairman of the Danang Tourism Association, said that the city needs to encourage the socialisation of investment sources to enhance scenic spots, develop craft villages, restore festivals, and construct cultural works. He added that the city should pull in community participation in tourism activities and boost the value of fishing and coastal craft villages.

“Danang needs to research and develop unique tourism products, imbued with local culture and identity, to increase the value of its offerings, as well as events and festivals combined with marine tourism,” said Dung.

VIR